getting back to normal (aka. I'm tired and bored... j/k!!)

This is such a great time of year... so much time with family and friends. Relaxing days, traditions, food, and fun. For a few days, I feel like I'm in a real life Halmark card. Not that my dad & Travis' constant teasing doesn't make me want to hit them over the head with our ham (or turkey), but its great to have the time together.

What are your holiday traditions?
I've already mentioned the Christmas movies... starting on Thanksgiving day, we are officially "allowed" to watch Christmas movies. We start on Turkey day with Miracle on 34th Street (the 1947 version), since that starts with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. Between then and Christmas (something I have to start doing with Travis instead of my parents and brother now... I missed it this year) we watch White Christmas, It Came Upon a Midnight Clear, It's a Wonderful Life, the Night They Saved Christmas, a Christmas Carol (with George C. Scott), and sometimes Mr. Magoo's Christmas Carol (cartoon version, circa 1962).
Christmas Eve we hang our stockings, listen to music, and decorate the tree. Ethan and I put the presents under - very last thing. Christmas morning we open our presents, eat my mom's eat cassarole thing (very good - cubed bread topped with shredded cheese, topped with an egg & milk mixture with some spices, then baked), and watch a Christmas Story (often more then once). Any Christmas movies we haven't seen yet, we watch now, and some we have. Before lunch I call my Babs and we tell each other what we got. We've done this every year for as long as I can remember. I can't imagine Christmas without these things (though we have done Christmas at Travis' parent's one year, and had a wonderful time).
Then, either Christmas Day or the day after, my dad's brother Scott, his wife MaryAnn, and their kids Em and Jess (my awesome cousins), visit... either they come up (like this year), or we go down. Sometime they bring my grandparent's up, or sometime my grandparent's are already at my parent's (like this year).

Our Christmas Tree
(though I admit that I'm cheating... this is actually from last year, as this year I was lazy and didn't break our my camera once! But it looked pretty much the same)

Soon we will start making our own Christmas traditions (this year we've started a collection of Christmas DVDs and VHS), maybe as soon as next year (our first Christmas as a married couple), but I can't imagine giving up a lot of the ones that my parent's have done with us for so long.

The only two very different things this year: 1. Travis' parent's were in AZ... and we didn't see them at all around the holidays. 2. The first Christmas without Kelly... :-(

But despite those two sad bits, Christmas was absolutely wonderful. We all got great stuff that we love, and we all ate waayyy too much... and it was just perfect.


Yesterday was back to business as usual (HAPPY BIRTHDAY PATRICK!!!!!!)... work. It was busy enough though, that I didn't have a worry about being bored. Last night was quieter then normal... our TV is on its last legs, so we just relaxed and read and did some emailing. Tonight hopefully I can use our quiet TV free time to get some chores done.

Today and the next few days will be same old, same old... but I have a half day on Friday and another long weekend (Monday off) thanks to New Years.

Start thinking about those resolutions!!